June (2016) Running Challenge

... a quick 5K through Colonial Williamsburg tonight followed by a delicious craft beer with a friend, who chatted with me about how "you" shouldn't eat back your calories. Gulp. (smile)

@whatmerunning what shoes were you wearing? Sorry to hear about the run!

@whatmerunning do those shoes have a drastically different drop than you're used to?
@juliet3455 I must have missed the post about your injury... Damn that sounds painful! Hope you can get that resolved soon.

For those with spouses who are concerned about you out running, there are two apps I sometimes use which transmit my location. One is Garmin Connect which a lot of you already have. The other is Glympse. I typically use Glympse. It's really nice during a race so they can see when you're close to the finish (though I think my wife is done with going to my raced) and I also particularly like using them during our brutally cold winter days or if I'm running late at night.

5.4 crappy trail miles tonight. I had stomach pain from the beginning, probably from the four oatmeal raisen cookies I ate. First mile was horrible, the rest merely sucky.

That puts me at 24.2 for the month.

@7lenny7 - My old trail shoes are Hoka Challengers with a 4mm drop. I had no issues with those. These new Stinsons have a 6mm drop and more cushioning. So they are different. My road shoes are in the 8mm to 10mm drop range so I was willing to give these a try. Bad choice.

I'm going to require some down time from running. My right foot is super pissy right now. Luckily it might be muscular since I felt no pain there until getting home. I was worried about a stress fracture due to the sharp pain and pain to the touch on tge top of my foot, but no swelling either.

Yeah, I'm super bummed about it, but I'm looking at some positives from it too. I kept opting for increased mileage as if it's infinite provided modest increases, but there should be some limits based on time and type of effort which can create a mileage ceiling, which I crossed in May. Right now I am probably best around 42 mpw. That affords me enough gas left in the tanks for workout efforts besides just long runs.

@whatmerunning, wow on the the shoes. Good call being cautious. I ditched the padded shoes for some Inov8's. I really like them. Good luck!

Stoshew71 wrote: »

AdrianChr92 wrote: »

For me, 5ks are harder than longer events. They start fast and they end fast and the pain seems to last forever. Every time I attempt to break my PR it's like the 5k takes a little of my soul in return. People underestimate the 5k a lot. It feels like a short race but is long enough that it drains you if you start too fast. Inexperienced people have poor notion of how long a km feels and they probably think it will go fast and they will finish until they get tired.

I totally agree. That's the main reason I haven't really ran 5K's yet. My focus is on longer distances right now because I am better at going slower but a lot longer.

Great report!

Haha, it's funny how parkrun / 5 km was my long run 9 months ago, and now it's a short sharp burst, hard enough to bust my guts.

Gotta keep reaching for those PBs!

Supportive spouses? Um, I also ice hike, climb, bike and do adventure races. A two week trip on a frozen river in India without telecoms (an area where sat phones are illegal). A week long bike ride without electronics. Tough Mudders in UK and Chicago. Climbing in Italy.

I get/got grief. Even divorced, I still get grief. But my parents, partners and kids usually understand and I can get them to join in, sometimes. The art is letting them know when and what my commitments are, addressing their needs and knowing when I'm willing to compromise. I've learned that bringing people along to some level of crazy can be good or miserable and try to know when not to push. Try. Sometimes that fails.

But the grief of being active? I shrug my shoulders. C'est come ça.
(Rarely, I've let a bike ride or something get in the way of a commitment. I was wrong, I apologise.)

Usually I explain way in advance what I'm planning and what it will take. For example, I'm hoping to complete an 88km ultra next year in Vermont (on top of ... other stuff ). Everyone now knows this is my new goal - I share my training plan (literally showing a printed page of my plan) which includes hours out per week - I recruit participants in my training, if they want to join, and adjust to make them welcome (run loops with my 13 year old - or she'll bike behind me on a run).

I do a lot of cooking in my life - being active is kind of the same thing. I don't need permission to cook or it isn't a conflict if I need to go shopping. This is the way of things. C'est come ça.

re: running and relationships. Running definitely can put a strain on a relationship. I've only been running two years and although my husband supports it, (like @4leighbee said) he thinks I over do it. It usually doesn't impact our time together because he's not up at 4:30 when I run. Although I do have to go to bed earlier than I used to but he's okay with that - he's tired too! I am a little worried about when we go on vacation in a few weeks. I will want to run, but that will take a couple hours away each day. But, he has learned I get very grouchy if I can't do some type of exercise, so hopefully it will work out.

That being said .... grrrrrrrrr .... stupid tropical storm in Orlando. Yesterday it wasn't raining in the morning but I had only had 4 hours sleep due weather delaying the flight of my MIL. So I didn't run. I was excited to run today no matter what. I was awoken by thunder and pouring rain. I thought I'd wait a little bit and see if it was just a band that would pass by, but no, it stayed and got worse. At least I have strength training this afternoon.

6/1 - 22 miles cycling
6/2 - 5 miles + strength training
6/3 -rest and recovery day
6/4 - 34 miles cycling
6/5 - 42 miles cycling
6/6 - rest day (due to lack of sleep)
6/7 - strength training (tropical storm rest day)

6/1: 5 miles
6/2: 6.4 miles
6/3: Rest
6/4: Lazy
6/5: 9 miles
6/6: 5 miles
6/7: 4 miles

My running buddy is back! She was on vacation in England and then at a conference in Germany, so we got all caught up during our morning run. And then we had 7:30 am popsicles because it was 70F and 90% humidity when we went out to run and UGH SUMMER GO AWAY ALREADY. (Though this weather HAS been pretty darn nice for sitting outside and reading, I will say.)

Pizza party tonight with my Oiselle teammates... our brave and fearless leader is leaving NJ to move to Arkansas Sad, sad day!



Upcoming Races:
6/11: Pacers Princeton Halfway Half (Princeton, NJ)
7/4: A 4th of July race somewhere!
9/11: Lehigh Valley Via Marathon (Allentown, PA)
11/20: Philadelphia Marathon (Philly, PA)

@moyer566: Great photos! Thanks for sharing, and congratulations!

@PoppetsMaster: I'm glad you survived with minimal damage. I cannot even imagine how scary of a situation that was for you. I'm hoping for a speedy recovery!

@5BeautifulDays: I love summer. I really do. I will take 90 degrees over 40 degrees any day. I just don't appreciate how it snuck up on my while I spent a week at work and in bed, and didn't allow me to transition into warm weather running!

@caitlinrn83: Congratulations! Running is definitely addictive. After doing it, myself, for about five years, I was finally able to finish my first half marathon this past winter (I was plagued with injuries during my first two attempts in years past), and I am signed up to do the Philly RNR half in September. Best of luck in your training!

@Zom_bunny: I always end up next to the most annoying people at the gym, so I certainly feel your pain. I actually just quit the gym I had been going to for about seven years, mostly because I could no longer stand the people (and the value of the place has gone way downhill, in my opinion). I am currently gym-less for the first time in over a decade. I have a new one picked out, but I haven't needed to sign up, yet. I'm hoping this one provides a more pleasant experience.

@karllundy: I would like to think runners don't mind snot, and I certainly don't care...at all! I, too, suck at the snot rocket. I always end up with snot all over my face and my shirt and it is quite disastrous. It took me a few years to master the art of spitting while running and not ending up with it all over myself. It's just so much easier to blow my nose into my left hand and wipe it on myself. I'm sure the people around me think I'm super gross, but I just don't care. It makes me more comfortable and that's what matters most to me.

@ceciliaslater: I'm glad to hear all went well. Best of luck with recovery, and I hope you're not in too much pain!

@kristinegift: First, it's amazing how looking forward to something like popsicles can get you through a run, isn't it?
Second, The People Vs. OJ Simpson was a great series. I watched it as it aired and I couldn't wait for the next episode to come around.

No running today! I was convinced it HAD to be a stress fracture or a serious tendon/ligament issue last night when I had to start using crutches from not being able to put any weight on that foot. After a good night's rest I am moving around this morning on one crutch to take most of my weight off the foot and can put some weight on the heel with no issues. So with such a change like that I'm relieved in believing it to be muscular again.

So a minimum of no running at all this week and probably next. I am looking for a pain free week before I start running on it again. That 50k is definitely out. I'm not even sure I will be willing to drop down to the 10 mile distance at that event unless this heals quickly.

At least I can live vicariously through you all for now.

6/1 - 8 brutal miles
6/2 - 4 crappy miles
6/3 - 3.1 lovely, fast, and hilly miles
6/4 - 13.1 wonderful, moderate effort, hilly miles
6/5 - Rest
6/6 - 1.1 mile trail fail
6/7 - Healing a foot injury
...
6/13 - Hopeful last day of healing? Can it be a miracle?

29.3/225 miles



Upcoming races (this list is subject to change at the posters whim):
9/25 - Broadway Bridge half marathon (Kansas City, MO)
10/15 - Kansas City Marathon 26.2 (Kansas City, MO)
11/5 - Jenks half marathon (Jenks, OK)
11/6 - Kansas half marathon (Lawrence, KS)
11/12 - Longview half marathon (Kansas City, MO)
11/13 - Gobbler Grind half marathon (Overland Park, KS)
11/19 - White River half marathon (Cotter, AR)
11/20 - Pilgrim Pacer half marathon (Lenexa, KS)

01/06 4 miles
07/06 4 miles

Oh my goodness I haven't been on here for nearly a week and there's over 400 posts! Bit of a late start to the month after a couple days off after my first half then moving over the weekend where I collapsed on the couch each evening finally got the place into some semblance of order and going out tonight for my first run (5k) tonight post edinburgh.

Got a new area to explore for running now there looks to be a few promising routes around here, everything is uphill to start with but of course this means its all downhill on the way home .

Just signed up for my next half marathon in October should be able to push a bit more after feeling alright at the end of the Edinburgh half. aiming for around 50 miles this month.



05/29 Edinburgh half marathon 2:59:05
10/09 Oxford Vitality half marathon